S. KOREA REPORTS 506 NEW CASES

[Anchor Lead]

Korea reported 506 new coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, bringing the daily caseload back into the 500s. Meanwhile some 850,000 people have been vaccinated so far, with those aged 75 and above to receive shots starting Thursday.

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[Soundbite] "Hello. We are from the public health center. Can I take a look at the medicines you take?"

Public health center workers visit a nursing home in Yangcheon-gu District, Seoul, to vaccinate its residents. This facility is home to frail seniors and those who have problems with communication. Workers at the fcility have also received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

[Soundbite] Park Cheon-soon(Nursing home worker) : "I felt nervous last night because of the vaccination. But I'm very comfortable now. We need to get vaccinated to take care of our residents without worrying about infecting them."

Only half of the 22 eligible people at the nursing home have been inoculated so far. Vaccinations of frail residents and those with communication problems were postponed.

[Soundbite] Lee Young-ok(Seoul Yangcheon Public Health Center) : "We make sure to check their health condition more thoroughly. We check their condition on the day of inoculation and take it into consideration."

An ambulance is waiting outside the vaccination site to prepare for emergencies. Health authorities are using second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as the first doses to inoculate as many people as possible. The goal is to make the best use of the vaccines that have already arrived without disrupting the administration of second doses, as vaccine supply is not stable.

[Soundbite] Kim Ki-nam(Vaccination Response Taskforce) : "Though vaccine supply is unstable, we are trying to expand vaccinations quickly without disrupting second quarter plans."

People aged 75 and over will be able to receive their shots from Thursday. The Pfizer vaccine has been delivered to regional vaccination centers. On Wednesday, 250,000 more doses of the Pfizer shots were brought to Korea. From May, vaccine eligibility will be expanded to people aged 65 to 74. Health authorities have signed contracts with some 11,000 sites that will be designated as vaccination centers.